It is very clear our voting rights and the mechnisms for counting our votes are under attack from many directions. The open-soure, paper-ballot voting system is one way for us to counter attack. Kudos to Clean Money and Trent Lange for getting out front on this action!
This is by far one of the most important processes that needs to be implemented to save our Democracy, especially when so many #oligarch maniac's are looking to use AI to destroy our right to vote.
My @calmatters.org piece: Scandals (Smartmatic bribery + Dominion rebrand as Liberty Vote) show proprietary corporate-controlled voting systems are failing trust. CA can lead by easing certification of transparent open-source paper ballot systems.
Full op-ed: calmatters.org/commentary/2...
"That’s where leadership from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s budget committees is essential.
For about $1 million... California could save taxpayers many times more and gain a more transparent, secure, publicly owned voting system."
Full-oped: calmatters.org/commentary/2...
"Open-source voting systems use source code that is publicly available, so government jurisdictions and independent experts can verify that the software counts votes impartially and accurately."
→ California can lead on this →
"Fortunately, there’s a better way. Unlike the secret inner workings of these proprietary systems, there are open source voting systems that are cheaper, more transparent and more secure."
→ Public code changes everything →
"The company’s press release used language championed by the pro-Trump “election integrity” community..."
This bipartisan erosion of trust shows why we can't keep relying on proprietary black-box systems controlled by corporations.
→ But there is a better way →
"Now consider another multinational corporation, Dominion, whose machines count more than a quarter of all U.S. ballots. A Republican former election official recently bought Dominion and rebranded it with the right-wing sounding name “Liberty Vote.”
→ The rebrand's messaging is telling →
"Consider the multinational voting machine corporation Smartmatic. Federal prosecutors have alleged that Smartmatic maintained a secret “slush fund” for bribing foreign officials, funded in part from its Los Angeles County contract..."
→ Now look at Dominion →
"Two scandals exposing the cozy relationship between multinational voting machine corporations and the obscure officials who decide how our votes are counted may prove him right..."
→ First: Smartmatic →
"Founding Father John Adams grimly warned, “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
Here's where it gets real →
Voters deserve election technology that’s transparent & accountable — not secret software controlled by multinational voting machine corporations.
Our @calmatters.org op‑ed explains why California must make it easier to certify open‑source, paper‑ballot voting systems as an alternative. 🧵
A voter fills their ballot at the Main Street Branch Library in Huntington Beach on Nov. 4, 2025. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters
Opinion | By supporting legislation that makes it easier to certify open source voting alternatives, Newsom can strengthen our faith in elections by protecting vote counting from even the appearance of partisanship or moneyed influence... bit.ly/4kQKEvW
📝 Trent Lange
📸 Jules Hotz
SIGN THE PETITION to protect San Francisco's campaign-finance & disclosure laws!
SIGN HERE: bit.ly/sign-sf-prot...
The Lever: How Zohran Mamdani Fought The Master Plan
🚨BIG NEWS: @gavinnewsom.bsky.social just signed legislation putting public financing of elections on the 2026 ballot of the largest state in America.
Public financing of campaigns was - by far - the most significant factor in @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's ascent. Nothing else even comes close.
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Thank you @governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing #SB42 to put the California Fair Elections Act on the ballot! Passing it will legalize public financing of campaigns to empower voters — not billionaires! SIGN: bit.ly/sign-sb42-7
Public financing of elections is an essential part of the solution to this autocratic moment. Grateful to Governor Newsom for doing the right thing and signing #SB42
@caclean.org @gavinnewsom.bsky.social please support SB 42
Used @caclean.org's tool to write to @governor.ca.gov asking him to sign The California Fair Elections Act (SB 42), which will allow for public financing of campaigns.
#DidThisToday
actionnetwork.org/letters/sign...
@governor.ca.gov @gavinnewsom.bsky.social: Please sign #SB42, the California Fair Elections Act — to strengthen our democracy by legalizing public financing of campaigns everywhere in California and empowering voters!